(134340) Pluto
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jan 2025	15.1	35.183 AU	36.163 AU	20h17m	-23°05'	4.8°	0.1°
Opposition	24 Jul 2025	15.0	35.311 AU	34.297 AU	20h21m	-23°18'	176.2°	0.1°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Pluto are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2465344
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.3991133
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.16543
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.32887
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 113.65177
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 51.17727
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 44.95482
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.68454
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 247.30            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   20 17 05.6   -23 05 11    36.163   35.183    4.8    0.1   121   15.1 
2025-01-18 06:52 UT   20 17 07.9   -23 05 04    36.163   35.183    4.6    0.1   123   15.1 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   20 17 13.8   -23 04 49    36.165   35.183    4.1    0.1   130   15.1 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   20 17 22.1   -23 04 28    36.166   35.184    3.6    0.1   143   15.1 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   20 17 30.3   -23 04 06    36.167   35.185    3.3    0.1   158   15.1 
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   20 17 38.6   -23 03 45    36.168   35.186    3.3    0.1   175   15.1 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   20 17 46.9   -23 03 24    36.168   35.186    3.6    0.1   191   15.1 
2025-01-24 00:00 UT   20 17 55.1   -23 03 02    36.169   35.187    4.1    0.1   203   15.1 
2025-01-25 00:00 UT   20 18 03.4   -23 02 41    36.168   35.188    4.8    0.1   213   15.1 
2025-01-26 00:00 UT   20 18 11.6   -23 02 20    36.168   35.188    5.5    0.2   220   15.1 
2025-01-27 00:00 UT   20 18 19.9   -23 01 59    36.167   35.189    6.3    0.2   226   15.1 
2025-01-28 00:00 UT   20 18 28.1   -23 01 39    36.166   35.190    7.2    0.2   230   15.1 
2025-01-29 00:00 UT   20 18 36.3   -23 01 18    36.165   35.190    8.1    0.2   233   15.1 
2025-01-30 00:00 UT   20 18 44.5   -23 00 57    36.164   35.191    9.0    0.3   235   15.1 
2025-01-31 00:00 UT   20 18 52.7   -23 00 37    36.162   35.192    9.9    0.3   238   15.1 
2025-02-01 00:00 UT   20 19 00.9   -23 00 17    36.160   35.192   10.8    0.3   239   15.1 
2025-02-02 00:00 UT   20 19 09.1   -22 59 57    36.157   35.193   11.8    0.3   241   15.1 
2025-02-03 00:00 UT   20 19 17.2   -22 59 37    36.154   35.194   12.7    0.4   242   15.1 
2025-02-04 00:00 UT   20 19 25.3   -22 59 17    36.151   35.194   13.7    0.4   243   15.1 
2025-02-05 00:00 UT   20 19 33.4   -22 58 57    36.148   35.195   14.6    0.4   244   15.1 
2025-02-06 00:00 UT   20 19 41.4   -22 58 37    36.144   35.196   15.6    0.4   245   15.1 
2025-02-07 00:00 UT   20 19 49.4   -22 58 18    36.141   35.196   16.5    0.5   246   15.1 
2025-02-08 00:00 UT   20 19 57.4   -22 57 59    36.136   35.197   17.5    0.5   246   15.1 
2025-02-09 00:00 UT   20 20 05.4   -22 57 40    36.132   35.198   18.5    0.5   247   15.2 
2025-02-10 00:00 UT   20 20 13.3   -22 57 21    36.127   35.198   19.4    0.5   247   15.2 
2025-02-11 00:00 UT   20 20 21.2   -22 57 03    36.122   35.199   20.4    0.6   248   15.2 
2025-02-12 00:00 UT   20 20 29.0   -22 56 44    36.117   35.200   21.4    0.6   248   15.2 
2025-02-13 00:00 UT   20 20 36.8   -22 56 26    36.112   35.201   22.3    0.6   249   15.2 
2025-02-14 00:00 UT   20 20 44.6   -22 56 08    36.106   35.201   23.3    0.6   249   15.2 
2025-02-15 00:00 UT   20 20 52.3   -22 55 50    36.100   35.202   24.3    0.7   249   15.2 
2025-02-16 00:00 UT   20 20 60.0   -22 55 33    36.093   35.203   25.2    0.7   250   15.2 
2025-02-17 00:00 UT   20 21 07.6   -22 55 15    36.087   35.203   26.2    0.7   250   15.2 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.